Five ways to exploit proof of concept

Last week I wrote about running proofs of concept (PoC) to ensure you create new solutions or ways of working that reflect business needs. But getting a PoC up and running is only one part of the process…

You’ve carried out scenarios and workshops to gauge the business appetite for the new technology or approach, you’ve put in place clear measurement criteria to capture both qualitative and quantitative feedback, and you’ve managed the PoC effectively to ensure you’re getting the right outcomes.

Now you need to ensure you get maximum business value from the process.

PoCs provide a great chance to socialise what you’re doing, build support across the business and use that engagement to drive further innovation.

Here are five top tips that will help you achieve that…

Socialise success early

Getting a PoC up and running is no easy task. And like anything in business you should always shout about successes when they happen.

In the case of PoC the value in doing this is twofold: firstly, it’s an effective way to ensure the wider organisation understands what you have achieved so far. Secondly, the more people aware of what you’re trying to do the better chance you’ll have of finding out whether what you’re doing is right for the business.

Pool expertise

Running PoC is not the time to work in siloes. It is critical to involve people from all parts of the business to ensure you get a mix of opinions and different ideas.

This kind of stress testing is crucial to develop your own thinking and potentially identify better ways of doing things. But it’s also a great way to encourage more people across the organisation to engage with and take ownership of the PoC process.

Focus on business change

You have to invest enough time and energy into driving the business change associated with the new technology or approach.

Think about the all the required support elements: what training or incentives are required? How could you design the concept in a way that makes the change as easy and undisruptive as possible? Think about user feedback and how you can adapt the PoC off the back of it.

Keep measuring

In my previous post I hammered home the idea that you have to have a predetermined set of criteria against which to measure success. Without that you simply won’t be able to gain any valuable insight, and the measurement has to continue throughout the PoC process.

This data will also help support the business case for a full rollout should the PoC be successful, or help you explain the reasons for not proceeding if it isn’t.

Ask ‘what if?’ questions

The PoC is all about working out whether something is going to be beneficial to your business in future, or whether it is going to cause problems. As you run your PoC you need to think about the potential it will generate. And the more you learn about the concept you’re trying to prove, the more opportunities will open up.

Keep asking ‘what if?’ What if you added new functionality to the PoC? What if you could combine your PoC’s outputs with other innovations? What if your competitors get there first? Asking these ‘what if?’ questions can uncover new opportunities and benefits that could otherwise be missed.

Enjoyed this post? Here’s more from Strategic Consulting:

Read more about the XpressWay approach to find out how you can get maximise return from PoCs.

The post Five ways to exploit proof of concept appeared first on Fujitsu UK & Ireland Blog.